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Happy Ourer: “We’re here with Pio Reina outside the Linndale locker room at Shaw Memorial Gym, where Linndale prepares to do battle with Coach Stephenson and his San Dominica Warriors. Coach, first of all, how are you doing? How is the team?”

Pio Reina: “We had a really bad week. We lost a lot of ground in the playoff race. We lost two of our best interior defenders and our second best rebounder. We suffered 2 extremely disappointing losses. And still, here we are on the outside looking in with a chance to fight our way in. Happy, we’re down but we’re not out. We’re fighters, and we’re gonna fight. We’ve been here before. We’ll fight as always.”

HO: “Speaking of fights, would you care to address the rumors swirling around the team of dissension and infighting amidst the players, and also in the front office?”

PR: “No, I don’t care to, but I have to. We ---”

(voice off camera) “Sorry Coach, but I got a piece of this.”

Floyd Hearn: (walks into view) “Happy what do you want me to say? That we were happy to lose Ramon? We weren’t. That we were happy to lose Harrison? Things had to change. It’s sad, but it’s the business. Still it was on me as the team leader to step up and produce. It was on Kyle Knowles and Rod Guyton to produce. We didn’t. We got our butts handed to us. We didn’t like it. We didn’t like losing our brothers. It was a lot to handle, but we absolutely should have handled business in those games and we didn’t. Now here we are about to play our respected rivals and we know they would love nothing more than to knock us out of playoff contention. That’s not happening. Not tonight. I got a bad attitude and I’m in a worse mood. If they want to think we’re not on the same page, let them. If they want to think this team, this family isn’t united, let them. The team you watched last week, that’s not the team you’re playing tonight. Last week was tough, but despite all the losses, we come out on the other side a better team.” (Walks away, into locker room.)

HO: “Coach, that tells me a lot about how the players feel. What about the front office?”

PR: “Every coach goes through it with their general manager sooner or later. At the end of the day, I think I have it pretty good. I tell the front office what I want and what I feel we need, the front office goes and gets it as long as I’m clear about the why. Have I been happy with everything? No, but admittedly, we also picked up a couple of pretty good players when it was all over. Having said that, we’re not going to agree every time. At the end of the day, we still share the same vision.”

HO: “Coach, on to tonight’s game. What’s the plan look like?”

PR: “We’re going to rebound, defend, and take care of the basketball. We know what we want to do, but we’re also going to be smart and take what the defense gives us. Coach Stephenson’s teams don’t give you anything. The team that wins the battle of wills wins this game. We have the will, so we’re going to find a way.”

HO: “Thank you for your time, Coach, and good luck tonight.”

PR: “Thank you, Happy.”

Happy Ourer: "Hey Pio, I just wanted to thank you for letting me know about the broadcast team next season. It's great knowing that I'll be working wth Joshua again.

(hears music in the Linndale locker room)

HO: "Sounds like the guys are really loose. That's good, right?"

PR: "Yeah, Happy. It's good. Time to go get these guys ready to work though. I'll see you later!"

(inside the locker room)

Trenton Tovar: “Yo, we in last place in this play off chase
I got the butt of two teams stinking up in my face
it’s a waste if we lose, so yo we betta’ make haste
and lay the smack down right now in this play off race

Team in unison: “MOVE.. GET OUT THE WAY! GET OUT THE WAY! GET OUT THE WAY!
MOVE... GET OUT THE WAY! GET OUT THE WAY! GET OUT THE WAY!”

(Pio Reina walks into the room.)

unknown player: “Fun’s over.”

PR: “Who said that? Who’s the voice of doom and gloom?
I’m the one that carries the big stick in this here room!
Are ya’ll ready to play, or we here to do work?
If ya here to play, get out my way or you gon’ get hurt!”

Team in unison: “OOOOOHHHHH!!!!!”

PR: “Now, here’s the plan, we came to defend
I don’t wanna see that soft stuff, we ain’t here to make friends
On offense, shoot ‘em if you got em’, but you better make ‘em
Their will is strong, to win we gotta break ‘em”

Team in unison: “MOVE!!!!”

PR: “This ain’t a rollover, ya’ll gotta make ‘em
You want one of those playoff spots? Ya’ll gotta take ‘em
Get down in the trenches, get dirty in the foxhole
Last week was a speed bump, don’t turn that mess into a pothole!

Team in unison: “MOVE.. GET OUT THE WAY! GET OUT THE WAY! GET OUT THE WAY!
MOVE... GET OUT THE WAY! GET OUT THE WAY! GET OUT THE WAY!”

Laughter erupts throughout the locker room. No divisions, no cliques. Just one team. Together.

PR: “I see ya’ll ready. Stay ready. Stay loose. Let’s go, give ‘em hell and win this thing tonight. We’re not going to worry about the next game. We’re focused on this one. Fellas, we’ve been through this before. We got it done last year when we were written off. We’re gonna handle our business and we’ll get to where we want to be.”

Floyd Hearn: “Coach, what you know about this?”

PR: “Half of your teammates weren’t even born when this song was released. You were 4. What do YOU know about this?”

Pio left Floyd dumbfounded and walked away chuckling.

No characters, no story telling... none of that.

Coach Stephenson, congrats to you and your team. This is why I preach defense, rebounding, ball security and free throws. We played good degense. Your team was better. We fought on the boards. We missed 8 free throws and turned the ball over too much. It's the little things that killed us...

AND YOU DID IT IN OUR HOUSE!!!!

To make matters worse, I saw the scoreboard. We're not quite dead, but we just let a HUGE opportunity get away. If we make the playoffs we're gonna need help.

I'm pissed.

Day 20 (Saturday 29 July 2023) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)
While I'm proud of FR-S for the gigantic win, WTF is going on!?!?

Night results
San Dominica Warriors 82 - Linndale 78
Lion Rebels 84 - 209’s MostWanted 86
Philly Dribble 115 - FR-S 122
Carolina Rebels 114 - Las Vegas Silver Stars 97
BKDogs 107 - LionPride 95
Super Sonics 74 - Tasty Tardsicles 101
The Beer Bellys 50 - Żubr Białystok 0
Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️ 96 - Miami Cleo 61

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 122 : FR-S
Rebounds : 56 : Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️
Assists : 32 : Philly Dribble
Steals : 12 : Lion Rebels, LionPride
Block Shots : 10 : Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 43 : I. Trapezanidis (FR-S)
Rebounds : 16 : P. Armonda (BKDogs), P. Cheatle (Miami Cleo)
Assists : 9 : É. Blanchet (San Dominica Warriors), T. Rumin (209’s MostWanted)
Steals : 4 : S. Huerta (Lion Rebels), J. Glicas (Philly Dribble), A. Borden (LionPride)
Block Shots : 3 : L. Genipabu (Linndale), K. Brown (Lion Rebels), M. Vlahović (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : T. Rumin (209’s MostWanted) (15 Points, 7 Rebounds, 9 Assists, 1 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 25
Shooting Guard : I. Trapezanidis (FR-S) (43 Points, 7 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots), T. Begley (Carolina Rebels) (22 Points, 1 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 1 Steals, 2 Block Shots), Ó. Begonha (BKDogs) (34 Points, 0 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots), S. Bachelier (Tasty Tardsicles) (18 Points, 4 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 2 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 25
Small Forward : C. Holley (LionPride) (27 Points, 5 Rebounds, 8 Assists, 3 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 38
Power Forward : O. Šindija (FR-S) (24 Points, 9 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 34
Center : T. Armstead (Lion Rebels) (30 Points, 14 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 3 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 42

MVP of the evening
T. Armstead (Lion Rebels) (30 Points, 14 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 3 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 42

The bad performance of the evening
L. Boga (209’s MostWanted) (2 Points, 0 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots)M. Farnsworth (Philly Dribble) (0 Points, 1 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -4

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : L. Talbot (Philly Dribble), G. Bolcioni (BKDogs), G. Locus (Miami Cleo) : 5 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : J. Bégin (San Dominica Warriors), É. Blanchet (San Dominica Warriors) : 6 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : S. Hollins (Lion Rebels), S. Huerta (Lion Rebels), T. Plummer (Carolina Rebels) : 48 Minutes

The shooter : P. Fasselli (Philly Dribble) : 4 Three points

The best performer : T. Armstead (Lion Rebels), C. Holley (LionPride), C. Wui Kwong (Tasty Tardsicles) : Rating : 18.0

The worst performer : L. Jackson (LionPride) : Rating : 6.0

Day 21 (Tuesday 1 August 2023) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
209’s MostWanted 79 - San Dominica Warriors 125
Linndale 75 - Lion Rebels 101
Las Vegas Silver Stars 93 - Philly Dribble 117
FR-S 58 - Carolina Rebels 98
Tasty Tardsicles 121 - BKDogs 66
LionPride 67 - Super Sonics 122
Miami Cleo 82 - The Beer Bellys 107
Żubr Białystok 0 - Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️ 50

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 125 : San Dominica Warriors
Rebounds : 73 : Super Sonics
Assists : 35 : Tasty Tardsicles
Steals : 12 : Tasty Tardsicles
Block Shots : 9 : Tasty Tardsicles

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 48 : C. Holley (LionPride)
Rebounds : 18 : D. Lin (Super Sonics)
Assists : 10 : L. Marín Gil (Tasty Tardsicles)
Steals : 5 : J. Makeba (Tasty Tardsicles)
Block Shots : 5 : L. Marín Gil (Tasty Tardsicles)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : E. Quintana (Carolina Rebels) (23 Points, 11 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 29
Shooting Guard : E. Dickens (Tasty Tardsicles) (19 Points, 11 Rebounds, 8 Assists, 3 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 33
Small Forward : D. Conaghan (Tasty Tardsicles) (19 Points, 2 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 22
Power Forward : D. Lin (Super Sonics) (16 Points, 18 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 1 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 32
Center : L. Marín Gil (Tasty Tardsicles) (17 Points, 13 Rebounds, 10 Assists, 1 Steals, 5 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 38

MVP of the evening
L. Marín Gil (Tasty Tardsicles) (17 Points, 13 Rebounds, 10 Assists, 1 Steals, 5 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 38

The bad performance of the evening
P. Cuellar (209’s MostWanted) (2 Points, 0 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -5

Triple-Double of the evening
L. Marín Gil (Tasty Tardsicles) (17 Points, 13 Rebounds, 10 Assists, 1 Steals, 5 Block Shots)

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : G. Bolcioni (BKDogs) : 6 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : I. Velasco (LionPride) : 6 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : K. Brown (Lion Rebels), E. Quintana (Carolina Rebels) : 48 Minutes

The shooter : K. Brown (Lion Rebels), P. Fasselli (Philly Dribble), Y. Georgoulis (The Beer Bellys) : 5 Three points

The best performer : T. Armstead (Lion Rebels) : Rating : 18.0

The worst performer : I. Velasco (LionPride) : Rating : 0.0

I won't lie I have no idea how I pulled that one off... I wasn't even playing my "best" lineup as I had guys out of position for training purposes...

So..... Yall do realize why he's tanking right? Jag found a great draft pick. Probably an 18 hof or Goat too lol. Only been in this league a BB year and can tell he'll do anything to get over the top. I just hope he looking for bigs and not guards( highly likely as bigs sell faster but guards trained longer go for more(half million or so from what I've seen))

Maybe...but I've seen him go AWOL before. I sent a message to him on discord, but he hasn't responded...I hope that's the case instead of him just dropping off the face of the earth!

Day 22 (Saturday 5 August 2023) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
San Dominica Warriors 79 - Lion Rebels 96
Linndale 80 - 209’s MostWanted 69
Philly Dribble 109 - Carolina Rebels 124
FR-S 105 - Las Vegas Silver Stars 121
BKDogs 78 - Super Sonics 136
LionPride 96 - Tasty Tardsicles 102
The Beer Bellys 107 - Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️ 125
Żubr Białystok 0 - Miami Cleo 50

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 136 : Super Sonics
Rebounds : 66 : Lion Rebels
Assists : 33 : Super Sonics
Steals : 16 : LionPride
Block Shots : 9 : LionPride

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 52 : C. Holley (LionPride)
Rebounds : 23 : M. Watkins (Lion Rebels)
Assists : 9 : T. Freeman (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️)
Steals : 5 : R. Stinson (LionPride)
Block Shots : 3 : J. Bégin (San Dominica Warriors), M. Watkins (Lion Rebels), H. Valgur (Linndale), F. Hearn (Linndale), H. Espinosa (Carolina Rebels), K. Elias (Super Sonics), M. Davies (Super Sonics), A. Gorman (Tasty Tardsicles)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : M. Craig (Super Sonics) (20 Points, 2 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 4 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 30
Shooting Guard : T. Freeman (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️) (48 Points, 1 Rebounds, 9 Assists, 4 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 46
Small Forward : R. Podraza (The Beer Bellys) (36 Points, 11 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 32
Power Forward : H. Espinosa (Carolina Rebels) (25 Points, 18 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Steals, 3 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 36
Center : C. Holley (LionPride) (52 Points, 17 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 3 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 53

MVP of the evening
C. Holley (LionPride) (52 Points, 17 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 3 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 53

The bad performance of the evening
S. Huerta (Lion Rebels) (2 Points, 0 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -3

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : R. Pace (Tasty Tardsicles) : 9 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : I. Trapezanidis (FR-S), M. Szkucik (Las Vegas Silver Stars), R. Stinson (LionPride), G. Luongo (LionPride), A. Gorman (Tasty Tardsicles) : 6 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : E. Dickens (Tasty Tardsicles), R. Pace (Tasty Tardsicles) : 53 Minutes

The shooter : K. Necišcionis (Las Vegas Silver Stars), T. Freeman (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️) : 7 Three points

The best performer : M. Coedo (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️) : Rating : 17.5

The worst performer : W. Sitorski (209’s MostWanted), G. Di Cosmo (BKDogs), E. Dickens (Tasty Tardsicles), L. Jackson (LionPride) : Rating : 7.0

Charlie:
Hello I’m Charles Sanborn and we are welcoming you to this playoff edition of the Warrior’s Den.
Little over 48 hours ago, the Warriors completed their regular season in a 96-79 loss to the Lion Rebels. The same team these Warriors will be playing tomorrow night to kick off the playoffs

The game was what most of us expected it to be. The Lion Rebels were out to protect homecourt advantage either for the first round or maybe the entire playoffs. The Warriors were just trying to make it to the playoffs unscathed by injury. Both teams achieved their desired goals with the Lions hanging on to the 2nd seed after their hopes for the top seed faded with Carolina’s victory over the Dribble. The Warriors made it out with no major injuries to get in the way of their playoff hopes.

So now comes the real question: what can we expect from tomorrow’s game. Well going by the scientific methold we’d compare the two meetings in the regular season. The first game was heartbreaker for the Warriors. Not much fault could be found with their play or strategy other than the fact they had no answer for Dirty Brown who lived up to his name sake. Dirty Brown again was a trouble maker but the Warriors just got hammered on the boards with Watkins and Armstead leading the charge on that front.

So what do the Warriors need to do to win? #1 Granja and Baiao need to do it on both fronts. They have to score and they have to play defense. #2 correlates to #1 because the Warriors are going to have to stop Dirty Brown and the problem with that is that at 6’4” Dirty Brown can play the 1-3 spot with ease. Pair that with the 6’6” Stott and the 6’4” Singh, you can see the problem with the lineup versatility that the Lions can bring so the Warriors have to make sure that no matter what line up the Lions bring at backcourt and the wings that they can adequately defend it.

The Lions, obviously will be trying to find the weak spot, plug in Dirty Brown there and let him loose. Lean on Armstead’s experience and Watkins' athleticism on the interior. Again the ease in that is that Dirty Brown can play with MVP type caliber play as long as he does not have to be a silverback. Yeah you can’t put him going up against Begin or Big Turk in the interior but anywhere in the 1-3 he’s dangerous. The Lions are gonna look for that key 1-3 lineup that the Warriors will not see coming and let it cook.

739-277-4673. The Lines are open. We’ll be taking questions after this commercial break. This is the Warrior’s Den with Charles Sanborn.

Best of luck to everyone still competing tonight!